Fright Night Jams-scares

Fellow musers of the night,

It’s the Halloween weekend – how are you spending your midnight mayhems?

There’s the annual Halloween-themed amusement park attractions if you want to relive your tween phase, or the yearly Halloween bar parties where you can vibe it out with good music. Whether you’re out for a scarily good time or staying in to watch a good ‘ole horror movie, I’ve got a selection of songs inspired by famous Halloween TV characters to keep your spirits up (literally).

In other news, we’re now down to the last two months of the year, and together with that, I’ll be starting a new recap section to spotlight some music finds that I haven’t brought up. If you think I’ve shared them all, well here’s your chance to see more of what I got.

Wishing you a fang-tastic Halloween and a hauntingly good week 🦇

Screams out,

Val ♫

(P.S If you are reading this in your email, please click “Read Online” at the top-right corner next to the date for a better reading experience!)

In this week's setlist:

• 🦇 The House of Addams

• 🧛🏻‍♂️ The Vampire Slayer’s Soundtrack

• 🎤 Artist of the Week: CARR

• 🎶 New Music This Week

🦇 The House of Addams

This famously spooky family from the 1960s is back in the spotlight thanks to Netflix’s hit series Wednesday. Their love for all things dark, peculiar, and charmingly morbid might be unconventional for some — but let’s be honest, they make for really iconic vibes.

Here are some tracks that capture their elegantly eerie aesthetic (or should I say, eerie-gauntly):

• The Times by Solene and isaintjames

• Desvelada by Oscar Maydon, Neton Vega and Peso Pluma

• Mycelium Eyes by Sub Urban

🧛🏻‍♂️ The Vampire Slayer’s Soundtrack

If you grew up with characters like Count Dracula and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, you’d be familiar with the vampy, nocturnal aesthetic that many goth fashion enthusiasts have since embraced as their own.

Take a dose of these brooding, blood-stirring tracks to channel your inner vampire or vampire hunter (if you dare):

• Bloodsucker by Cil

• Afterthought by First Hand Accounts

• Hell Yeah by Jarvis Freddy Wu

🎤 Artist of the Week: CARR

If the Scary Movie franchise were an artist personified, it would be this week’s featured artist.

LA-based artist Carly McClellan, also known as CARR, puts the “carr” in “sCARRe.” Her music is inspired by classic emo-goth rockstars like Avril Lavigne and The All-American Rejects. Drawing from the elements of the night, her music is darkly playful and unapologetically ebony-bold.

CARR captures the perfect sweet spot of ’90s teenage denim grunge set in a horror-inspired context. Her songs, often played in diminished and minor keys paired with booming drums and fast beats, echo a soundscape straight out of a scene where teenagers are running from a serial killer in a menacing mask.

Even if you’re not a mildly synesthetic listener, her music screams black and red — a palette that matches her persona as a fiery, brazen girl in red lips and dark denim jeans. If you’re looking for a Halloween vibe that’s perfect for a midnight bike ride, black leather jackets, and digicam photography flashes, consider listening to this onyx-toned artist.

Here are my own favourites:

• Spiral City: This song is so teen-horror coded, I can picture a Tiktok edit of the iconic scenes from the first Scary Movie with this audio.

• Vampire Teeth: Dark feminine sensuality is reimagined in this track, where OP teasingly apologizes for her bite-mark displays of affection. Making out has never been this bloody.

• Cold Charlie: The chord progressions are way too familiar for this one! A million emo rock songs immediately come into my head, but I’ll let you imagine which ones they are.

Listen to CARR here.

🎶 New Music This Week

Wonder by Perla: Spirit meets sensual essence in this captivating track. If a tarot card reader had a playlist she plays during her sessions, this would be one of the songs playing.

Fantasía by J.A Dominguez: When I hear this song, I think of the “She was a fairy” audio that’s been going around in social media. I think it’s the perfect song to embody if you’re attending parties in an ethereal fairy costume.

Penthouse in the Sky by Goldie Boutilier: As the name suggests, it has a distinct penthouse vibe, but the synth-filled melody makes it feel nothing like your usual silk-sheets penthouse. It’s more like Catwoman’s dark, neon-lit penthouse overlooking Gotham City.

Inspired by this week’s music picks?

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